49ers looking for new leaders to emerge as season closes

Developing a new group of leaders is a task coach Jim Tomsula said the 49ers are in the process of doing, albeit amid 10 losses through 14 games this season.

Tomsula said the 49ers have not hidden from the fact they lost franchise mainstays this past offseason, including Justin Smith, Patrick Willis and Frank Gore.

“We knew there was a core group that’s not here,” Tomsula said Monday. “There was a core group, Justin and Frank, I was with all those guys the whole time. There was a core group here that built up through some tough times and got into some really good times. They did a heck of a job, just leading and tightness.”

Tomsula, who spent the previous eight seasons as the 49ers’ defensive line coach, watched that former group of leaders bond in a way he’s hoping a new group can do these days.

This season’s team opened with nine captains, but that leadership-by-bulk approach hasn’t worked as key players have faded from action. Tight end Vernon Davis got traded to Denver, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick got benched and ultimately put on injured reserve, which is also where Antoine Bethea and Glenn Dorsey also are finishing their seasons.

Blaine Gabbert also has tried taking on leadership role while starting the past six games, and Tiller complimented Gabbert’s way of encouraging teammates through recent tough times.

Bowman has returned as a strong leader after missing last season recovering from knee reconstruction. He broke down Sunday’s pregame huddle. What did he say to his teammates?

“That we’re a team and if we call ourselves a team, we have a bad game, it’s our job to respond,” Bowman said after Sunday’s loss. “I challenged the whole team to respond to the last game we played. When you ask a man if you’re going to rise to the occasion or fold, you expect to see them rise to the occasion.”

Bowman did not call out the 49ers offense for not rising up to the level of their defense.

“I just try to motivate everyone,” Bowman said. “We as a defense are behind them and we’re not pointing the finger or anything like that, we just want to get it right. I’m not in their meetings, so I just try to give them encouragement like I know how to.”

As for the next-generation leaders, Tomsula named defensive linemen Ian Williams and Quinton Dial as two strong candidates, along with up-and-coming players Jimmie Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, Eli Harold and Blake Bell.

“That young crew, I’m really excited about,” Tomsula said. “Is it a molded together core? No, not yet. Are they working toward it and have intangibles? I believe they do, so I’m really excited about it.”